Hotel Ofenhorn

Histoire depuis 1883

Four years after the Ofenhorn mountain was conquered for the first time in 1864, the Binn Valley was included in Karl Baedeker’s travel guide – although visitors still had to lodge at the vicar’s. In 1881, Josef Schmid from Ernen and two kindred spirits began building a new hotel. After it opened in 1883, Schmid’s wife managed the hotel. Under her guidance the Ofenhorn flourished splendidly in its first years; the Belle Époque was fertile ground for most tourist enterprises. In 1897, an annex was already added on the north side. In 1923, electric lights were installed. During World War II the hotel served as military housing; after that, it was completely renovated. The Walliser Stube on the ground floor dates from that time. In the 1960s central heating was installed so the hotel could stay open in winter. After three generations, the Schmid family left the hotel in 1968. The hotel was then closed for three years until Pro Unter- und Mittelgoms Ltd reopened it. After a series of new difficulties, the village decided to take on responsibility for the hotel in 1985. The Pro Binn­tal Cooperative, founded two years later, has managed the hotel with the help of lessees since that time. Following renovation of the outside façades in the 1990s, the Cooperative boldly decided to completely renovate the hotel with the support of the office for preservation of historic buildings and monuments in 2007. In several stages all of the public rooms on the main floor and a number of guest rooms were ­carefully renovated in line with historic standards. The original wall decorations were restored in the entrance area, while the dining room and a number of guest rooms were also refurbished in line with historic plans, and the rooms were wallpapered based on old samples. In 2013, the Icomos jury recognized this careful work by giving the hotel an award for its skillful search for traces of the past in an important Alpine hotel and for the ongoing restoration of the premises. The hotel has been a member of Swiss Historic Hotels since 2008. (RF)